Holden Starts Work On Body Shop For Next-Generation Cars

Holden Starts Work On Body Shop For Next-Generation Cars

Viknesh Vijayenthiran
January 7, 2013
Comment Now!
General Motors’ Australian subsidiary Holden has started work on a new body shop that will be used to build two future models, the first of which, the next-generation Cruze compact car, will enter production in 2015.

The second model will enter production in 2018 when the upcoming VF Commodore is scheduled to end its run.

Holden is yet to confirm what the second model will be, though some in the Australian media, such as GoAuto, are speculating that it won’t be a direct successor to the Commodore but a new crossover instead.

Holden has confirmed that the two new models will be based on global platforms from the General Motors Company [NYSE:GM] empire. We know the first model, the next Cruze, will ride on an updated version of the Delta II platform underpinning the current Cruze.

Given the small size of the Australian market, there have been reports that Holden is unlikely to build two cars based on two separate platforms going into the future. It currently builds both the Delta-based Cruze and Zeta-based Commodore. Instead, the second model will reportedly by a crossover sharing the same updated Delta II platform.

Holden boss Mike Devereux has previously stated that his company is committed to the Commodore nameplate, but could future generations of the car be built outside Australia?

One possibility is that the next Commodore is developed alongside a second-generation Chevrolet SS and manufactured in the U.S. However, this would depend on how successful the upcoming 2014 SS based on the VF Commodore is.

Another possibility is that the next Commodore will downsize to GM’s Alpha platform and share its design with a reborn Grand National sedan from Buick. Once again, this would likely see the car produced in the U.S.

Australians may dislike the thought of their much-loved Commodore being built overseas, but surely an imported version is better than none at all.